When the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) is mentioned, we say (peace and blessings be upon him), whereas in the hadith regarding the tashahhud it says (O Allah, send blessings upon Muhammad). How is this reconciled?

The questioner : Your Eminence! In the salutation upon our Prophet, we must combine sending blessings and peace... How is it now that in the prayer, in the tashahhud, we say: O Allah, send blessings upon Muhammad, and we do not say: O Allah, send blessings and peace? And likewise in the hadith:

The Shaykh : It is not obligatory to combine sending blessings and peace in the salutation upon the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him); rather, a person may isolate one without the other. For this reason, when the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) taught them the tashahhud, he mentioned peace but did not mention blessings. However, combining them is better due to the saying of the Exalted: As for obligation, it is not obligatory.